Shredded cheese is a growing component of the overall cheese market largely because such a product offers the consumer convenience in the preparation of a wide variety of products in the home kitchen. Shredded cheeses, for example, can be used as toppings or ingredients in homemade dishes such as pizzas, casseroles, salads, and the like and in retail snack products.
Shredded cheeses often employ anti-caking agents such as cellulose-based products or formulations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,893 (May 6, 1997) provided an anti-caking agent formulated from fine mesh vegetable flour, bentonite, cellulose, and antimycotic agents or bacterial cultures. This anti-caking agent reportedly reduces the stickiness of the chunked, diced, or shredded cheese, improves the functionality of the cheese, and reduces yeast and/or mold growth.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,770 (Mar. 2, 1999) provided a reduced fat shredded cheese prepared by applying a small amount of fat to the surface of an essentially fat-free shredded natural cheese. The reduced fat shredded cheese product had melt and mouthfeel characteristics similar to that of the corresponding full-fat cheese product but with significantly reduced levels of fat. More recently, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/618,514, filed Jul. 18, 2000 (assigned to the assignee of the present application and hereby incorporated by reference) provided natural cheese shreds containing a nutritional calcium supplement; the calcium supplement also provided non-agglomerating properties whereby conventional anti-caking agents could be significantly reduced or eliminated.
Conventional cheese products generally have water activities of about 0.92 to about 1 and must, therefore, be stored at refrigerated temperatures. Attempts to produce shelf-stable cheese which can be stored at room temperature have generally involved the reduction of moisture in the cheese composition. Such efforts generally result in a brittle and dry cheese which is not acceptable for most uses. Such defects are especially noticeably when such cheeses are used to prepare shredded cheese because of the increased surface area of shredded cheese.
Using the process of this invention, shredded cheeses which are shelf-stable at ambient temperatures and exhibit good melt restriction and essentially no browning (i.e., when melted at about 375° F. for about 3 minutes) can be prepared. Using a combination of a natural or process cheese, a cheese powder, glycerin, and a filler, the present invention provides a shelf-stable shredded cheese having low water activity without brittleness and dryness. The shredded cheeses of this invention are especially adapted for incorporated into, or use on or with, retail snack foods.